danielbower.com

Rupert Murdoch's Recruitment Strategy

2009-03-23T19:40:18+00:00

Apparently he throws half of the applications in the bin in order avoid people who are unlucky being employed.

Brilliant.

My Five Favourite Purchases of 2008

2009-01-05T18:14:25+00:00

As many of you will probably already know I'm big on consumption. I love buying stuff, typically well researched, high quality, probably could be cheaper, RRP, stuff.

Anyway, as now is the time of reflection and lists I thought I'd run through my five favourite purchase of 2008.

5. ZIP ZIP 4GB Lego USB Drive

I'm a big fan of novelty USB drives and this has to be the best I've found so far. Not only does it remind me of my wonderful childhood spent building pirate ships but it also holds a ton of my most cherished binary files.

4. YoYo Ceramics Plain Jotter

Making lists is something I do well and this is a fun way to do it. I'm not so sure how much it is saving the planet - given that I wipe it clean with kitchen roll - but I love it anyway.

3. Pure Oasis Digital Radio

My mate Hugh got me hooked on the radio, particularly listening to it in the shower in the morning. This splash proof beauty helps me do exactly that. It's just a shame I feel like throwing it through the window every time I hear John Humphrys voice.

2. Canon Powershot G9

I've not quite taken the plunge and bought a full DSLR, yet I also need a little more functionality than a basic point and shoot. In comes the G9. There really is no other camera like it on the market. I also really love the chunky retro body.

1. London's Kerning

Moving into my own flat was a big step. I needed something nice to fill the walls. This beautiful piece of typography not only ticked my love of the printed word box, but also my interest in maps and London, which is my new home. Perfect.

My New Years Resolution

2008-12-28T21:57:59+00:00

I will quit

the

gym.

ABC3D - It's Pop Up Typography

2008-12-22T13:45:58+00:00

My good friend Matt who was visiting London over the weekend shared this little gem with me. ABC3D is a typography book with a twist - it's also a popup book!

I've ordered my copy (only £6 from Amazon), I may even consider giving it away as last minute Christmas present.

Album Covers in Lego - Which Radio Station will Rip this Meme Off?

2008-12-17T18:13:34+00:00

I got forwarded a link to this brilliant Flickr group that makes classic (and not so classic) album covers in LEGO.

Some of my favourites are:

and

by Christoph!

It reminded me of the "face covered by vinyl" meme from last year that Smooth FM ripped off. I wonder who'll jump on this band (no pun intended) wagon?

The VIII Annual Thommys

2008-12-17T17:34:54+00:00

Every year my good friend Thom Gibbs - founder of the Gaffer, music writer, club promoter and all round nice chap who desperately needs his own website - does a end-of-year music questionnaire that we all dutifully fill out. It's a great way to show off about how that remix of a never heard B side is *your favourite track of the year* and also to find new stuff that you may of missed - though never admitting it of course.

The Thommys, as he calls it, is all conducted via email, which means all this great content is hidden from the public eye. Who knows, maybe this keeps it pure or maybe Thom's missing a ticket? All I know is that I'm gonna start publishing mine here each year for all to see.

You're not a liberty to answer all the Qs and you can change the numbers if you like too, top 10 becomes 20 for example, all you need to is fill it in, add somemore people to the list, and remember to hit reply all.

Feel free to leave you own rants in the comments.

1.) What are your top 10 albums of 2008?

In no particular order:

M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Cool Kids - The Bake Sale
Lovvers - Think
Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair
Metronomy - Nights Out
Wild Beasts - Limbo Panto
Robert Hood - Fabric39
Santogold and Diplo - Top Ranking
TVOTR - Dear Science
Abe Vigoda - Skeleton

2.) What are your top five songs of 2008?

3.) What were your top five live performances of 2008?

In no order:

M83 @ Scala
Yo Majesty! @ Barfly
Radiohead @ Victoria Park
Santogold @ Koko
Hercules and Love Affair @ Koko

4.) Who are your band of 2008?

Abe Vigoda

5.) Who is your solo artist of 2008?

Santogold

6.) What are your top five compilations / re-issues / live albums / mixes released in 2008?

Robert Hood - Fabric 39
Camper Van Beethoven - Songs of Great Enduring Love and Beauty
Health - Disco
Digital Penetration - Volume 2
Santogold and Diplo - Top Ranking

7.) Who is your favourite new band / artist to emerge in 2008?

Lovvers

8.) What is your favourite album cover of 2008?

No Age - Nouns

9.) What is your favourite music video of 2008?

10.) Who was your favourite inactive band / artist of 2008?

The National

11.) What non-'08 songs / albums / artists will you forever associate with 2008?

James Murphy and Pat Mahoney - FabricLive 36

12.) Who is your hero of 2008?

Gordon Brown - he saved the world.

13.) There is no question 13

14.) Who is your villain of 2008?

Dawn Porter

15.) What was the worst album you heard / bought in 2008?

Weezer - The Red One

16.) What is the most overrated song / album / artist of 2008?

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

17.) What was the worst live performance you saw in 2008?

TVOTR - Shepards Bush

18.) What was your musical disappointment of 2008?

See above

19.) What is your least favourite album cover of 2008?

Islands - Arm's Way

20.) Who were the worst support act you saw in 2008?

Some guy who support Gomez at The Forum

21.) What is your least favourite venue?

Barfly

22.) What is your favourite venue?

Koko

23.) Who were the best support act you saw in 2008?

White Williams supporting Vampire Weekend

24.) What was your favourite festival of 2008?

The Bloc Weekender - Potins, Great Yarmouth

25.) Who is your producer of 2008?

26.) What is your record label of 2008?

27.) What is your favourite music website / blog?

HIPSTER RUNOFF

28.) What is your favourite music magazine?

That one that Gibbs writes for.

29.) What is your favourite music shop?

Aside from Amazon? Pure Groove in Clerkenwell.

30.) What is your favourite clubnight?

On the Beach

31.) What are your top five favourite films released in 2008?

32.) What were the top five best non-'08 films you saw in 2008?

33.) What was the best book you read in 2008?

Of the four I read: The Watchmen - Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

34.) What was the best videogame you played in 2008?

Gears of War 2

35.) Who are your musical hot tip for 2009?

The Answering Machine

36.) Whose albums / gigs / re-appearance are you most excited about in 2009?

I missed Lovvers thus far so them.

37.) Bands reuniting: enough already, or MOAR! ?

Indifferent

38.) What are your favourite lyrics of 2008?

"Are you dissin' me dog? Please you shop at the mall. Me? I shop at boutiques, limited quantity sneaks."

39.) Approximately how many albums have you bought / downloaded in 2008?

I've paid for 102.

40. ) Which semi-recent songs / albums / artists do you wish you'd discovered before 2008?

M83

41.) Is there a song / album / artist which will reliably "get the hairs standing up on the back of your neck" or similar?

Metronomy - On Dancefloors or Santogold - L.E.S Artistes

42.) If you could have the hair of any musician, whose would you choose?

43.) What's your favourite band logo of all time?

44.) Can you whistle?

Not very loud.

45.) What would you identify as your musial turn-offs? Traits which would immediately put you off a song / albums / artist?

46.) Who is the most musically talented member of your family?

My Dad.

47.) What song / album / artist soundtracked your loss of virginity?

48.) What is the most fun you've ever had watching a band?

Me and Hugh at Hercules - the only straight guys at a Right Said Fred gig springs to mind.

49.) 2008 Personally: How many out of 10?

9

50.) 2008 Musicially: How many out of 10?

Hehe

2008-11-30T13:21:26+00:00

You can buy it for 24 bucks on Busted Tees if you want.

My Five Favourite Clubs in Europe

2008-11-30T00:50:42+00:00

A return trip to the Q Club in Birmingham got me thinking about this. It started off as the five best in the world but I decided I haven't been to enough outside of Europe to really cast an educated opinion.

5. Razzmatazz, Barcelona

Banging Barcelona super club. Arsey bar maids.

4. Fabric, London

A maze in the meatpacking capital. Has it's own label.

3. Maria am Ostbahnhof, Berlin

Uber. Has a sushi bar and too many projectors.

2. Panorama Bar, Berlin

Go whenever you like. Just go.

1. Q Club, Birmingham

Ungodly clubbers mecca. In a cathedral.

The Best Discounts of 2008

2008-11-26T16:19:44+00:00

People are passing around discounts like wild fire at the moment so the team at Voucher Codes have devised a list of the Top 10 Vouchers Chirstmas 2008. It's a mix bag of online and offline and can get you anything from food and booze to iPods and skinny jeans.

Remember to tell all your friends, work colleagues and family in a nicely forwarded email

iPhone Server Status

2008-11-25T17:35:32+00:00

Voucher Codes has been seeing some healthy increases in traffic over the past few days - it seems people are passing round our link in email quite a bit. As you'd expect I've spent a lot of time pouring through the server stats and analytics, so Joe, one of the developers at eConversions, built me a little tool to satisfy my thirst for data wherever I am.

The pictures are a little crappy, and I've blurred out some stuff (you didn't think I'd release proper data did you?) but you get the idea.

If you're interested in knowing how he did this pop it in the comments and I'll update later.